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Bought Another Car

In my desire to remember the big events in my family's life, I did document our new car purchases of 2016. It is a big deal in our family as we usually drive our cars into the ground, sometimes literally! We lost my beloved 2004 Pontiac Vibe with 230,000 miles, and our 1999 Olds Silhouette van that we inherited from my dad in 2007. It was didn't have many miles on it at all given its age, but it did have a sticky touchy transmission, and numerous other age related problems. It finally wasn't safe to drive when the brakes completely went. And the Vibe met with an ice patch which caused me to collide with another car, going 5-10 miles an hour. Their car was fine. Mine was a mess. Probably saved my life. Turns out when they went to fix the body damage they found that the frame was very bent and not safe at all. I had hit an unavoidable pothole in a narrow road construction zone going 50 mph (the posted speed). The hole was so deep my teeth rattled and the car never felt right after that, and was never level. Well, we know why now. I shutter to think if the accident had happened at highway speed what the outcome would have been. 

So that left us with my mothers inherited purple 1999 Alero purchased in 1998. And I have a lot of difficulty getting in and out of it because it is so small and low to the ground. It was perfect for my mother and perfect for my daughter, who has claimed it as her own. But what wasn't perfect was having a family of 4 drivers and crazy schedules and 1 small car. We made it work when we needed to, kids rode their bikes, etc. Bottom line, it was time to jump in and get some new vehicles. 

The LeSabre, while a 2005, had relatively low mileage, a few rust spots, but otherwise a very solid vehicle, and I can get in and out of it easily. And it is fully loaded with options. The Town & Country came later in the year, after we had to rent a U-Haul to move my daughter to college, and drive a vehicle too. We just didn't have the hauling capacity needed with two small to medium sedans. We even took both cars when we went to the resort last summer. 4 people and their luggage and other gear we needed to bring for a week, was not going to fit in one medium sedan. Nope! 

The new van was a long time in coming purchase. Our old van should have been retired at least 3 years previous, possibly five years. In fact through our year long messy move, every time we were able to use it, we would breath a sigh of relief. It made it more than a year past that. Yes, we were blessed that it kept going and that when the brakes went, my husband was less than a mile from home and that it was him driving and not me or one of the kids. Anyway, I digressed a bit on this post. 

While vehicle purchases may seem silly and fairly mundane and routine, they are a big investment and an important part of family life, or any life. First vehicle, different vehicle, all are big decisions and are worth documenting. Plus, as you get older, some look back and cannot remember what vehicles they had or when they had them. Lordy, my dad owned so many vehicles in his 87 years, and some of them were short-lived awful purchases, but they all had a purpose and a story that went with them. Like the convertible he had that caught on fire, he pulled his golf clubs out and just walked away, happy to say good-bye. Those are the funny stories that bear recording! 

For Ruby's page - the LeSabre, I used the Hello December kit in the Project Life App. It had the colors and look I needed for that page. 

For the Van (Preston it is named, don't ask why, inside family joke I may address at some point), I used the Picturesque Edition in the Project Life App. That collection has some beautiful nature type cards, but it also has a few graphic cards that suited the page. It just proves you cannot go by the name of the card collection, and that you need to see all the cards that are in the collection/edition. I have pulled cards from unusual collections before that you wouldn't think would work, but work beautifully. 

Don't forget to document the mundane. It is still a part of your story, your life, and some day you may want to remember, or a family member might want to learn about you. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Keep being creative, Sandy 




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